Crime & Safety

Church-Goers Irked by Parking Rules

A couple of local residents took to the Patch Facebook page to complain about parking tickets they received last Saturday while they attended evening mass at St. Mary's Church in Katonah.

"We were all parked in the area that we are allowed to park for Sunday Mass," said Kathy Neilsen Auffant. "Five-fifteen on Saturday is the first of our Sunday Mass Schedule; after 30 years of attending that mass, I can't park at the church? What a disgrace." 

The tickets were issued by Bedford police to cars that parked on Valley Road Sat. June 15 between 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., according to Lt. Jeffrey Dickan. The cars were parked in spots designated "No Parking Except Sundays." 

Dickan said officers responded to the area after the department fielded a complaint from a Valley Road resident that the road was congested. Parking tickets were issued for clearly marked violations, he said, noting that Chief of Police William Hayes has also received recent complaints about parking during Saturday church services.

"As long as I can remember, there has been no parking on the north side of Valley Road except on Sundays," said Dickan, a 30-year veteran of the police department.

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Do you think the parking rules should be extended for Saturday evening services? Let us know in the comments.


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